Ten questions with Rebecca Keller
College professor, artist, Fulbright scholar and now debut author! Rebecca Keller’s novel has been receiving rave reviews. Glad we had a chance to interview her about her path to publication.
1. Please tell us about your debut novel.
YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN centers Frannie Greene, a retired nurse who moves into an apartment in an Assisted Living Community. There she finds a compelling friendship with her new neighbor Katherine, only to discover that Katherine is married to the judge who Frannie believes is implicated in the death of her beloved granddaughter.
In one dreadful, impulsive moment, Frannie’s desire for revenge combines with her medical expertise. Someone ends up dead, and Frannie realizes the gravity of what she’s done. As suspicions gather around someone Frannie knows to be innocent, her anxiety becomes unbearable, and she attempts to redeem herself. But as she works to make it right, she discovers that things are more complicated than they seem. She’s spent years aching for accountability from people in power. Is she the one who now needs to be held culpable? What really happened that night?
2. I’ve read that only 4% of the people who start a novel, finish writing it. Why do you think you beat the odds?
Stubbornness? A commitment to the process? A belief in the project?
I think it is partly because—although I am relatively new to writing fiction-- I’ve had a long career as a visual artist. So I understand that rejection, reiteration, continuing to bang away at a project or an idea, ‘keeping on keeping on’ are all part of any sort of creative profession. I also did not set out with an idea that I had one particular story I wanted to tell. Rather, there were ideas and themes I wanted to explore, so the writing was part of the exploration.
3. Was your debut novel the first book you wrote? (Any prior efforts hiding on your hard drive?)
Short answer:
Oh, definitely, there are prior efforts. An earlier novel will remain buried deep in my hard drive, because, even though there are probably some parts that are okay, I know there are sections that would make me cringe.
Longer Answer:
YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN is my first published novel, but not my first book. AS I mentioned, I am also a visual artist, and a few years back a book about some of my art projects, called “Excavating History: When Artists Take on Historic Sites” came out. I was a contributing editor. I have also written chapters of textbooks, as well as many articles and essays for art catalogues. I have also published a fair amount of short fiction in literary journals and anthologies.
4 What helped you become a better writer? Any books or resources you found helpful?
Mostly reading other novels--- but reading in a different way than I had before. Now I look for the seams, paying attention to the larger organizational structure of the book, as well as a greater attention to sentence level writing. In terms of other resources, talking (and in some cases, sharing work) with other writers that I trust and with whom I can connect is always helpful.
5 What was your process like getting an agent?
LOTS of rejection. In fact, I still don’t have an agent. I was told by multiple agents that they loved it, but they “didn’t think they could sell a book with an older protagonist” (which struck me as a distinct failure of imagination.)
I was fortunate in that my book found its way into the hands of the editor at Crooked Lane Books, who loved it, and offered me a contract.
6. How did you celebrate when you learned your book would be published?
Believe it or not, I don’t think I did anything in particular---I don’t remember. Mostly I remember telling people who had been supportive over the years-- being able to share the news with them was a huge thrill and those conversations were super fun.
7. What was the most exciting moment involving the publication of your debut novel? (The moment you first saw the cover? The call when you learned when it was being published? When you cashed your advance check?)
I think it was when they sent me the auditions of various actresses for the audio book... it was so awesome to be able to hear how these professional actresses gave voice to a character I had lived with for so long. It made it feel real.
8. What’s your best advice for someone who wants to be published?
Lots of advice, though some of it might seem contradictory:
Believe in what you are doing and stay committed, but at the same time, be willing to recognize that despite all your hard work, a particular project just might not be coming together. Being able to ‘fail better’ means accepting that you can learn enormously from things that don’t succeed. But stay committed to the larger goal of writing, even if you need to put one thing or another aside...or delete all but 10 pages of a 200 page novel! I rewrote the last third of YSHK 3 times, changing it quite radically each time. There are many stories of writers ditching huge sections of their manuscripts, but continuing to pursue their goal.
The final thing I might add is to reconsider the question: Why is it you want to be published? To validate your efforts? To find an audience? To make money? How do those things align with wanting to write?
9 What are you currently reading? Or, what's one of the best novels you've read lately?
At the moment I am reading a lot of nature writing (essays and poems) to prepare for a class I’ll be teaching.
10 What are you working on now? Any projects coming out soon?
There has been a lot of interest in YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, which generated invitations to write guest columns in places like Women Writers /Women’s Books, Writer’s Digest and CrimeReads, and opportunities for readings and signings and other events. I am super thrilled with it all, but it has meant I needed to step back a bit from another novel I had been deeply engaged with before I was offered the contract for YSHK.
While I never completely stopped working on it, I certainly had to shift focus.
But now I am reconnecting with that project-- and I am happy to report that it still feels compelling and engaging.
I will keep you posted!